Space Flight Archives

August 22, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Danish Amateurs Hope To Launch Suborbital Rocket Next Week

Copenhagen Suborbital's HEAT rocket and Tycho Brahe capsule ready to launch. Credit: Copenhagen Suborbital

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It’s something like the movie “Astronaut Farmer,” but this is for real. And it’s in Danish. Copenhagen Suborbitals, headed by Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen, hope to launch the world’s first amateur-built rocket for human space travel. As of this writing, the launch countdown clock on the Copenhagen Suborbitals’ website reads 7 days and 12 hours, which would put the launch on August 30 at about 1300 GMT. This upcoming flight will be an unmanned test flight, but if all goes well, Madsen hopes to be inside the single-passenger capsule named Tycho Brahe for a manned flight in the near future. They have a sea-launch site on the Baltic Sea near Bornholm, Denmark, and their HEAT 1-X rocket is ready to go.

Peter Madsen and Kristian von Bengtson. Credit: Copenhagen Suborbitals.

The team has been building their hybrid rocket since about 2004. Copenhagen Suborbitals is a non-profit endeavor, based entirely on sponsors and volunteers. Their mission: launch a human being into space. If they are successful, Denmark would become only the fourth nation to send a human into space. But this project is completely private – no national funds have been used. “We are working fulltime to develop a series of suborbital space vehicles – designed to pave the way for manned space flight on a micro size spacecraft,” said Madsen and von Bengtson on their website.

The Hybrid Exo Atmospheric Transporter or HEAT, is their booster rocket. It stands about 9 meters high, and it is a real scale rocket with a 640 mm diameter tube and uses liquid oxygen (LOX) for fuel. The HEAT booster will burn for about 60 seconds, providing 40kN of thrust, resulting in less than 3-g making the trip feasible for humans to endure in an upright position.

The flight trajectory for the HEAT rocket. Credit: Copenhagen Suborbitals.

The booster was successfully test-fired in February and May 2010. Copenhagen Suborbitals has also built three other rockets and successfully tested ~~and flown~~ them, including a small unmanned sounding rocket, named Hybrid Atmospheric Test Vehicle or HATV and smaller versions of the HEAT rocket.

“The mission has a 100% peaceful purpose and is not in any way involved in carrying explosive, nuclear, biological and chemical payloads,” said Madsen and von Bengtson.“We intend to share all our technical information as much as possible, within the laws of EU-export control.”

Previously, Madsen built the world’s largest home-made submarine, UC3 Nautilus. von Bengtson used to work for NASA. “This is the wildest thing I’ve made,” said Madsen in the Danish publication B.T. It is much wilder than the submarine.” Madsen added that he was tired of waiting for NASA, so decided to build a rocket himself.

The Tycho Brahe capsule is a single passenger capsule with a full view through a polymer plexiglas-dome so that the person can see and experience the entire ballistic ride. It has a pressurized volume providing support for one upright standing/half-sitting person. It will also have additional pressurized space, around and behind the astronaut, available for several other systems necessary for the flight procedure, and to support additional scientific and commercial project.

Peter Madsen inside the Tycho Brahe capsule. Credit: Copenhagen Suborbitals.

Copenhagen Suborbitals is taking donations, so check out their website. There’s also lots of images and videos available, on the site, too.

Since I am of one-half Danish heritage, I find this especially exciting. We’ll be following the progress of the Copenhagen Suborbitals’ historic flight. Stay tuned!

August 20, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

NASA Managers Approve Additional Shuttle Flight

Atlantis launches on its last scheduled mission. Image credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today

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While the final decision on adding an additional shuttle flight rests on the political process, today NASA managers approved adding the STS-135 mission, from a safety and logistics standpoint. If Congress gives final approval for funding one more shuttle mission beyond the two that are currently on the manifest, space shuttle Atlantis would be targeted to launch on June 28, 2011. The STS-135 mission – if not needed as a “Launch on Need” rescue flight for STS-133 or STS-134, would have a 4-member crew and carry a fully-loaded multi-purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier to the International Space Station.

NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel approved adding the flight from a safety standpoint. Having a crew of four means the crew – if stranded on the ISS – could stay on the space station and rotate coming back to Earth on the Soyuz spacecraft that serve as rides home/rescue vehicles , and NASA would not need another shuttle on standby for a rescue.

Originally, the Senate version of NASA’s 2011 budget included funding for an additional shuttle mission but the House version did not. However, NASASpaceflight.com reported that “The House authorization bill added the additional flight to mirror the Senate bill,” adding that the two bills differ in how the flight would be paid for.

Atlantis will be processed for the STS-335 Launch On Need mission, and the final decision on whether STS-135 becomes a reality remains to be seen. Stay tuned!

Source: NASASpaceflight.com

June 30, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Red Bull Stratos Update: Breaking the Speed of Sound in Freefall

Baumgartner during a test flight. Credit: Red Bull Stratos

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Here’s an update on the Red Bull Stratos project, where skydiver Felix Baumgartner will attempt to break the speed of sound during freefall. (Read our preview article). Baumgartner and the project’s aeronautic’s experts recently conducted the latest round of high-altitude test jumps and step-off procedure tests. Baumgartner himself reports feeling both satisfaction and apprehension while the team prepares to move into a new phase of testing.

During the last week in May 2010, the Red Bull Stratos team conducted three important tests. In the capsule step-off test, conducted at Sage Cheshire Aerospace in Lancaster, California, the capsule dangled from a 40,000-ton crane to simulate its suspension from the balloon flight train, with Baumgartner practicing his movements inside, exiting and stepping off. The purpose was to determine how the vessel reacts to Baumgartner’s motion, and whether those reactions could compromise his descent. Even a relatively gentle tumble created by imprecise step-off could not only hinder Baumgartner’s ability to break the sound barrier but also suddenly devolve into a dangerously rapid “flat spin” once he encounters a level of increased air density.

Felix Baumgartner during a test flight. Credit: Red Bull Stratos

Next, a group of pre-eminent aerospace experts and test pilots – including Joe Kittinger, who holds the records Baumgartner will try to break – gathered in a deserted Palmdale fairground to witness something they’d never seen during all their combined years of experience: a bungee jump in a pressurized space suit and helmet. After multiple jumps from a crane basket suspended 200 feet above the ground, Baumgartner’s exit technique had evolved into something that one team member described as “perfect.”

The finale to the week of testing was a series of skydives over the desert in Perris, California, reaching approximately 26,000 feet. This test, conducted on May 27, 2010, was the first in a fully pressurized suit and was a follow-up to a similar day of flights in early spring. Baumgartner had been frustrated by the awkwardness of his equipment, especially by the way his chest pack – a vital technology hub for the descent – jammed his helmet and inhibited movement on descent and blocked his vision while landing. Objectives were to get a clean step-off from the rear-exit airplane; assess controllability and various body positions in the fully pressurized suit; experience suit deflation upon descent; and test a new chest pack system that allows one side to move out of Baumgartner’s line of sight so he can spot his landing. Baumgartner’s technique and the improved equipment worked so quite well, so the team was able to accomplish all objectives.

Source: Red Bull Stratos

June 15, 2010January 22, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

100th Launch to the International Space Station

The Soyuz TMA-19 vehicle blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today to bring three new crew members to the International Space Station. This was the 100th launch of missions in support of space station assembly, resupply and crew exchanges. The rocket lit up the early morning sky in Kazakhstan at 3:35 a.m. Wednesday local time, (5:35:19 p.m. EDT and 9:35 pm GMT on Tuesday). The Soyuz took eight and a half minutes to reach orbit, but it will take about 2 days to catch up to the ISS.
Continue reading “100th Launch to the International Space Station”

June 15, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Unusual Views of the Soyuz Rocket

'Up, up the long delirious burning blue...' View from the Soyuz flame trench by 'Astro_Wheels,' astronaut Douglas Wheelock.

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Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut will launch to the International Space Station later today, and astronauts Douglas Wheelock has been able to get up close and personal with the Soyuz rocket that will take them there. He’s taken a few pictures of his rocket from unusual vantage points and posted them on Twitter, and is sharing his prelaunch experiences, too (@Astro_Wheels). Wheelock has big shoes to fill in the Twitter and picture-taking department, as JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi set a new standard in making his time on board the ISS a shared experience through images and social media. More pics below, plus a newly released video by NASA of the landing of the Soyuz that brought the Noguchi, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov and TJ Creamer back home. It’s a view of the landing not normally seen.

'The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. T minus 42 hours...' Tweeted Wheelock.

For the next crew heading to the ISS, which will bring the crew size back to six at the space station, veteran cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Wheelock and Shannon Walker are scheduled for liftoff aboard the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:35:19 p.m. EDT (9:35 pm GMT) (3:35:19 a.m. June 16 local time Kazakhstan).

Including manned and unmanned missions, this will be the 100th launch supporting space station operations since assembly began in 1998.

June 10, 2010January 22, 2016 by Nancy Atkinson

South Korean Rocket Explodes 137 Seconds Into Flight

A South Korean rocket carrying a climate observation satellite apparently exploded 137 seconds into its flight early Thursday. The two-stage Naro rocket operated normally during and after liftoff from the country’s space center, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man said. But then communications with the rocket were lost.

This is the country’s second major space setback in less than a year.
Continue reading “South Korean Rocket Explodes 137 Seconds Into Flight”

June 9, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Delays Likely for Final Two Shuttle Missions

Endeavour on the launchpad in February 2010. Image: Nancy Atkinson

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The final scheduled space shuttle flight of Endeavour that has been targeted for late November 2010 is now likely to move to January or even February of 2011 because the primary payload, the $1.5 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, won’t be delivered to KSC in time to support the earlier date. Additionally, the penultimate scheduled mission, STS-133 Discovery, currently slated for September 16, could be delayed until October. As we reported yesterday, the first hint of Endeavour’s delay came from the announcement of a new opportunity for students to send experiments to space on Endeavour, and now Florida Today reports Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana said it could even be February until the AMS is ready to go.

The White House and Congress are considering adding a third and final shuttle mission that could be flown next June. Each additional month of shuttle operations costs $100 million to $200 million. While the funding for shuttle missions technically only goes until the end of 2010, mission managers have said there is currently enough money in the shuttle budget for about two months of operations in 2011.

After that and possibly one more mission next summer, if funding is approved, Cabana, speaking at a National Space Club Florida Committee meeting, hopes to see KSC transition be able to support commercial space ventures and be less reliant on a single NASA program like Apollo, the shuttle or even Constellation.

“What we don’t want to be in the future is tied to any one large program,” Cabana said.

The delay for the AMS involves switching out to magnets that will last longer in space, since operations of the ISS have been extended to 2020. Liquid helium would have been used cool the superconducting magnet’s temperature to near absolute zero. But tests showed the helium would dissipate withing 2-3 years, leaving the seven-ton experiment useless.

Source: Florida Today

June 4, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Falcon 9 Launch Gallery; ‘Fantastic Day,’ P–G Singularity and More

A Prandtl–Glauert singularity, or shock cone forms around the Falcon 9 rocket during launch. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.

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Universe Today photographer Alan Walters was on hand for Friday’s spectacular and picture-perfect launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Enjoy a gallery of images, including this great shot of a Prandtl–Glauert singularity, or shock cone that formed around the rocket, which sometimes occurs when a sudden drop in air pressure occurs when rockets or aircraft are traveling at transonic speeds.

“This has really been a fantastic day,” said an exuberant Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, speaking with reporters after the flight. “It’s been one of the best days of my life. It’s certainly been one of the greatest days for the people of SpaceX.”

Falcon 9 launch on June 4, 2010. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.

Falcon 9 pre-launch on June 4, 2010. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today.

June 3, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Crew Embarks on 520-Day Mock Mission to Mars

Mars500 crew just seconds before ingressing their module for a 520 day stay in June 2010. Credit: ESA

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Six men from Europe, Russia and China embarked on a 520-day mock mission to Mars, heading out to a crew module in a warehouse in Moscow and locking the hatches behind them today. The mission runs from June 2010 to November 2011, and like a real Mars mission, the crew will live and work like astronauts, eating special food and exercising the same way as crews aboard the International Space Station. Additionally their communications with their mission control and anyone else from the rest of the world will have a delay of up to 40 minutes.

A joint project between the Russian space agency and ESA, officials said the mood was serious, intense but very determined in the Mars500 facility at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow as the crew talked to the press and then walked into the modules.

Diego Urbina and Romain Charles from Europe, Sukhrob Kamolov, Alexey Sitev, Alexandr Smoleevskiy and Mikhail Sinelnikov from Russia and Wang Yue from China will have a mission that is as ‘real’ as possible. Their mission is to ‘fly to Mars’ in 250 days, divide in two groups, ‘land on and explore Mars’ for a month and ‘return to Earth’ in 230 days, in their special facility imitating an interplanetary spacecraft, lander and Martian terrain.

“It will be trying for all of us. We cannot see our family, we cannot see our friends, but I think it is all a glorious time in our lives,” said Chinese participant Wang Yue, 27, ahead of the experiment.

In addition to evaluating many new technologies, Mars500 will test of human endurance and psychological issues of being confined in a small space and being away from family and friends and a normal Earth-life.

The crew will be keeping online diaries and provide video updates to ESA’s Mars500 site.

Source: ESA

May 26, 2010December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Atlantis Crew ‘Riding Inside a Fireball’

ISS astronaut Soichi Noguchi captured Atlantis and her crew streaking through the atmosphere on their return to Earth. Credit: Soichi Noguchi/JAXA/NASA

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At a post-landing news conference, STS-132 commander Ken Ham described the incredible visual effects the crew of Atlantis witnessed as they returned to Earth today. As the shuttle was engulfed in plasma during the hottest part of their re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, they were in orbital darkness, which highlighted the orange, fiery glow around the shuttle. “We were clearly riding inside of a fireball, and we flew right into the sunrise from inside this fireball, so we could see the blue color of the Earth’s horizon coming through the orange. It was amazing and just visually overwhelming.”

As evidence, ISS astronaut Soichi Noguchi captured Atlantis as that fireball, streaking though atmosphere, just as dawn approached. “Dawn, and Space Shuttle re-entered atmosphere over Pacific Ocean. 32 years of service, 32nd beautiful landing. Forever, Atlantis!” Noguchi wrote on Twitter, posting a link to the image.

Amazing.

Asked about his thoughts after landing, Ham said, “Walking around Atlantis after the flight I realized I probably just did the most fun and amazing thing I’ll do in my life.”

As for Atlantis, and whether she’ll fly one more time, the latest word is that the NASA authorization bill — as it stand now –will include language authorizing an additional shuttle mission.

As for Noguchi, take in all the images you can now from him on his Twitter feed, He, along with Expedition 23 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov, and astronaut T.J. Creamer are scheduled to leave the ISS on the Soyuz spacecraft on June 1 and land on the southern region steppe of Kazakhstan, completing almost six months on the station.

Here’s an image Noguchi took of Atlantis just after it undocked from the ISS last weekend.